The Blood of the King
by c2t2
Summary: Five interconnected drabbles weave a story. AceLu


Title: The Blood of the King  
Author: c2t2  
Disclaimer: If I owned One Piece, I would not have killed off the TWO BEST characters. I wouldn't make money off such an evil series even if I could. Jerks.

As usual: interesting tidbits, explanations, and author notes can be found in my livejournal (squizbee) linked in my profile.

Each drabble can stand alone.  
Not in chronological order.  
Enjoy

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

1.

Nothing. The red bead from Ace's broken necklace that Luffy held was _nothing_. Meant nothing. It contained no memories of their time together, and it wasn't even stained with Ace's wild blood.

Luffy didn't even know where Ace had gotten it. It did not matter now.

This bead, one of many, once rested over Ace's heart.

Luffy wondered if it, too, remembered the silky texture of his brother's skin; recalled the heat and the strength of the body it once pressed against.

A surge of hatred for the thing in his hand, and the bead was crushed to dust in his palm.

Luffy threw his handful of dust into the fire. It seemed like an appropriate way to dispose of the wretched thing.

Oh, how he envied it.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

2.

The memories remained.

'Too old,' Ace nearly said as a ten-year-old Luffy slid into bed beside him, pressing close. They weren't children anymore.

'Too young,' He thought when warm sparks ignited all through his thirteen-year-old body. They were still children, after all.

'Too far,' whispered a voice in the back of his mind when an affectionate kiss between brothers became something else entirely. Lips parted, and hands slid beneath clothing.

"How far is too far, Nii-chan?"

Had the boy read his mind? "I don't know. Luffy, what do you think?"

"I think that Ace worries too much."

"Ah," Ace replied after a long moment, "it seems I am the devil's son after all."

He truly was the child of a monster. No boy should want his brother the way Ace does. Luffy is his oracle, his muse, his light; he is Ace's conscience and his guiding star, his treasure.

Ace keeps waiting for his brother to stop him, to say it's enough for now, or come to his senses and leave forever. But he doesn't. The boy arches into his touch and begs beautifully and promises that he belongs to Ace and only Ace so please don't ever stop.

Lips part even further, tongues brush together, and Ace suddenly can't seem to catch his breath. Then Luffy whispers "Nii-chan," and breathing becomes even harder.

"What should I do?" Ace asks the only person who will hear him, the only person he can trust. The only person he has left.

He is lost.

The thrill of soft skin presses down the naked length of Ace's body. His light, his inspiration, his Luffy whispers in his ear, "Ace still worries too much."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

3.

A boy with freckles turned to his small companion.

"The _sake_ wasn't enough."

The smaller boy sniffled, and didn't ask what the older boy meant. The small boy had done little except cry for the last few days.

The older boy continued to speak, "We couldn't keep Sabo with us. That's because we're only sworn brothers. We need to be blood brothers too."

Without further explanation, the freckled boy drew out a knife and slashed across the palm of the smaller boy's hand. The little boy's sniffling turned to wails at the unexpected pain, and the older boy silenced him with a knock on the head.

"Be quiet, this is important!"

The little boy's wails died away.

"Would you be willing to share my blood - the blood of the devil? Would you do it if it made it easier for me to keep my promise, my promise to never die and leave you alone?"

The little boy nodded tearfully. "I don't care who your dad was. Ace's blood is Ace's blood, and that can't be anything but perfect."

The older boy sliced across his own palm and gripped his brother's still-bleeding hand for a long minute. "Then it's settled. Now we share the same blood, and we really are brothers. No matter what, we will always be together."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

4.

The Strawhat Pirates were elated. Luffy's polite and charming brother was joining them on their adventure in Alabasta. At least for a while. Ace's company would be a welcome balance to their hyperactive idiot captain.

"All right!" Usopp whooped, "I'll go find another hammock to hang in the guys' room!"

"Aww, you don't have to," Luffy interrupted the sniper. "Ace sleeps with me!"

Most of the crew burst into giggles to cover the awkward embarrassment. Their captain was so innocent!

"I don't think that's a good idea, Luffy," Ace replied easily.

"But Ace _always_ sleeps with me!"

"We're not little anymore," Ace continued as Usopp left to find a hammock below deck. "One hammock would be too small to fit both of us."

"But it's been _so long_, Ace. And I –"

A crash sounded below deck, and Luffy took off to investigate (and possibly join in) the commotion, leaving his last sentence unfinished. The rest of the Strawhat Crew laughed again, remarking how their captain was still such a child.

Nobody noticed the red tint across Ace's cheeks.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The topic was dropped until the next night, when the crew was camping in the Alabasta desert.

None of the others took notice when Luffy grabbed Ace by the arm and dragged him away from the campsite.

"Finally!" Luffy exclaimed when they were out of sight from the others. "Ace, it's been so long since we've been together, you have no idea how bad I missed you!"

"Really?" his brother raised an eyebrow, "You really haven't been with anyone?"

"'Course not! I LIKE my nakama!"

"Wait… what?"

Luffy pouted, "Ace always said that if I ever touched anyone else the way I touched him, then Ace would kill that person! Don't you remember?"

Ace laughed, he had always been a possessive bastard. The best part was that Luffy was happy to belong to Ace. He knew better than anyone that if his kid brother wanted things to be different, then no power on earth could stop him.

"I definitely did say that. I never wanted anyone else to have you. Wow, Luffy. I can't believe you waited for three years!"

His little brother had gotten bored with talking, and the flying hug nearly sent both of them crashing to the ground.

Luffy kissed the way he always had, all enthusiasm and energy and honesty. The shameless passion was absurdly erotic, and Ace's mind was lost in the rising surge of need. Before either of them knew it, they were on the ground in a pile of discarded clothing.

The best thing about Luffy's ability, in Ace's opinion, was that his body needed no preparation or stretching for Ace to avoid hurting the rubber-boy. Without delay, he buried himself deep in a single thrust, and Luffy's breathy cries came only out of passion. His flexible body meant that Ace could hold Luffy in his arms, pressed full length against him, and did not have to worry that his partner would be uncomfortable at an angle that anyone else would find awkward or even impossible.

Luffy's moans and soft cries mixed with Ace's muttering filthy words and phrases of love. Ace finally rolled onto his back, letting Luffy set the pace and ride them both to completion.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Unbeknownst to the brothers, Zoro had wandered away from camp to take a piss, and had gotten lost. He located the nearest voices and headed to what he thought was camp, when he stumbled onto the site of the tryst. Ace and Luffy were too focused on each other to notice, and Zoro decided he needed to be somewhere else, _anywhere_ else… _Now_. So he turned and sped off in the other direction.

Luckily for him, the opposite direction was camp. When he arrived, Sanji dryly asked what could have possibly put such a look on the legendary swordsman's face. At this comment, Zoro's expression contorted in such a way that even Sanji was freaked out and dropped the subject.

Zoro located his flask and decided to drink the whole thing. The alcohol burned through the swordsman's body, so he had no desire to huddle with the others for warmth.

Nearby, the cold night of the desert could never reach Luffy through the heat of the fire under his brother's skin.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

5.

The fire felt cold now, as Ace lay bleeding out in Luffy's arms.

"The demon's bloodline dies with the Fire-Fist," the whispers swept through Marineford.

The flames roared higher, locking the brothers in a tomb of privacy, if only for a minute.

Luffy shifted Ace's dying body to take his brother's face in his hands; and kissed him one last time, whispering against cracked and bleeding lips how much he loves him. Ace couldn't feel much of anything at this point, but Luffy hoped he could still hear the words. He let his brother's weight rest again on his shoulder, and as the flames died down for the last time, he heard Ace whisper.

"I'm sorry, little brother. Not only am I breaking my promise, but the blood of the devil lives on inside you."

"Don't say that," Luffy was sobbing now, on the edge of breaking, "I told you, Ace's blood will never be anything but perfect."

Ace could only smile against Luffy's shoulder, "Thank you. Thank you… for loving me."

Luffy's heart felt broken, his soul torn in half.

The flame went out, and the boy's mind shattered.

-.-.-

* * *

-.-.-

Ahem. If you, uh, happen to feel like reviewing as if this was five separate stories, I'd be _totally fine with that_.  
I'd be fine with anything, really.  
_Anything_.


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